Monday, January 30, 2017

Pre-Release Review: Good Boy by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

Hosting her brother’s wedding for an MVP guest list is the challenge of Jess Canning’s life. Already the family screw-up, she can’t afford to fail. And nobody (nobody!) can learn of the colossal mistake she made with the best man during a weak moment last spring. It was wrong, and there will not be a repeat. Absolutely not. Even if he is the sexiest thing on two legs.

Blake Riley sees the wedding as fate’s gift to him. Jess is the maid of honor and he’s the best man? Let the games begin. So what if he’s facing a little (fine, a lot) of resistance? He just needs to convince the stubborn blonde that he’s really a good boy with a bad rap. Luckily, every professional hockey player knows that you’ve got to make an effort if you want to score.

But Jess has more pressing issues to deal with than sexy-times with a giant man-child. Such as: Will the ceremony start on time, even though someone got grandma drunk? Does glitter ever belong at a wedding? And is it wrong to murder the best man?

Caution: May cause accidental aspiration of tea or coffee. Do not read in a public place where loud laughter is inappropriate. Contains hot but hilarious hockey players, puppy cuddling and a snarky pair of underwear

5 Stars!!!

Good Boy is the first book in Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy's WAGS series, and while it can be read as a standalone, if you haven't read HIM/US (which are MM and sooooo good), please do yourself a favor and do so, you'd be missing out if you don't.

Jess Canning is on the verge of yet another career change, from wedding planner to nurse student, and scared out of her mind at the idea of telling her family how much of a failure she is... again. It's something she feels strongly about, though, and she's determined to make it work. Planning the perfect wedding for her youngest brother, Jamie, and the love of his life, Wes, is fundamental in showing all of them she's capable of being as successful as all of her siblings. Having to deal with Blake—Wes' best man—especially after their ill-conceived hookup when they met last spring in Toronto, on top of it all, isn't her idea of fun (or it could be too much of it since they can't seem to keep their hands off each other, even when Jess knows she shouldn't give in.) Moving to Toronto and having to deal with Blake more frequently along with her lack of confidence at starting nursing school at 26, might prove a little more than she expected.

Blake Riley is determined to wear down Jess' resistance, no matter what it takes. He's nothing if not relentless when he wants something and he definitely wants more of Jess.

Now, I wasn't expecting all X's for this shindig, but would it have killed the grooms to let me plan something with at least one X? Or maybe an R-rating?I don't do PG. Makes me antsy.

But Wesley and Jamie hamstrung me, threw a bunch of rules on me and demanded I fall in line. Which means no life-sized cake with a male stripper popping out of it. No tequila shots off each other's butts. And no glitter.What the fuck does everyone have against glitter?

I knew I was going to love Blake, because I adored him on US and he's every bit as awesome in Good Boy. He is seemingly immature and outgoing, but he's so much more than that. He has so many hidden layers and it was lovely to discover every one of them and see he wasn't the silly man-child everyone thought he was. He was determined, funny as all hell, sweet and loyal, even to people who definitely didn't deserve that loyalty.

I wish I could say I loved Jess, but I can't. Really, she had a huge chip on her shoulder and it took me a long time to warm up to her. I ended up liking her a lot, though, and it's undeniable that their banter was all kinds of good, the chemistry between her and Blake was explosive and their sexy sexy-times were off-the-charts hot!

His grin turns wicked. "I sure am. You probably remember pretty well, because I'm unforgettable. But I could give you a refresher right now." He drops the sheets onto the sofa and reaches for his fly.

I loved Wes and Jamie's wedding, I might have shed a tear (or more) during the ceremony. It was definitely awesome to catch up with them and see how perfect they were for each other. Blake's family was amazing and I loved them all, especially his mom, who was much more intuitive than anyone had given her credit for!

I hated Molly, Blake's ex, with a passion! And really, I'm glad everything got resolved in that front in such a satisfying manner!

I give his cheek a quick peck, which triggers several high-pitched shrieks from the females in our vicinity. Sounds of betrayal rather than approval. "Uh-oh," I whisper back. "I might start a riot."

He tips his head and grins ruefully. "Yeah, you might wanna head back to the WAGS box. The Blake Brigade is kinda possessive.""The Blake Brigade? Seriously?" I roll my eyes. "You named your groupies?"

"They named themselves," he protests. "They've got a website and everything."

I sigh. Of course they do.

All in all, this was another seamless collaboration between Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. It was fantastically written, combining hockey and nursing with family and romance with a fabulous set of characters I adored and wanted more of in a hotter than hot, fun, engaging story I couldn't put down until 5:10am this morning when I finished it. Now I can't wait for Eriksson's story in Stay, June can't come soon enough!

Highly recommendable! (Even if you aren't too fond of MF, I promise you won't regret reading this book)

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by the author for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***